More women should be portrayed in action roles.

When La Femme Nikita was cancelled on USA, I was very upset because I
enjoy
seeing females in action roles. My husband told me he had seen previews of
a
show called Witchblade that he thought I might enjoy. I watched the movie
and now I'm hooked. This show has definitely proven to be as good as
Nikita,
and now I don't miss her anymore. Yancy Butler does a wonderful job
portraying Sara. I was disappointed to see that there are only 11 episodes
in the making. Hopefully the ratings will be so high that more will
follow.
Thank you for giving me something to enjoy watching.

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14 out of 16 people found the following review useful:

I Don't Know What You Guys are Talking About

I liked Witchblade as a TV series and I was disappointed when it was
canceled. If this were released on DVD, I'd gladly shell out a few
bucks to acquire it for my collection. There are far too few strong
female characters on TV. Plus, Yancy Butler was freaking hot.

Now I do know that it departed from the story line from the comics but
I also understand that sometimes that's necessary to make the show
accessible to non-comicbook nerds. It was a little frustrating how they
reset the entire story line after the end of season 1 but I've been
asked to believe far more ridiculous plot points on other more well
respected shows.

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14 out of 18 people found the following review useful:

Difficulties of Crossing Genres and Uncommon Cultural References

Perhaps one would appreciate the series more if one was familiar with
the mythological history that invigorates its story. I enjoyed the
series tremendously for this reason, and because it presented a vital
alternative to the usual fare. A different story with all the same
tropes of the genre would have been unexciting. Also, the series tries
to cross two genres (fantasy and cop dramas) that probably don't cross
well in the American cultural consciousness. The people that enjoy high
fantasy and ancient mythology (to put these two together) likely aren't
the same people who enjoy gritty cop dramas. That is, the audience is
not sufficiently large to justify the show's continued existence.

Likewise, though for different reasons, I attribute the demise of
Farscape. It was innovative in ways that a large audience did not
sufficiently appreciate, though I would have thought that its audience
was sufficiently large for continued production. Again, the danger of
breaking conformance to cultural consciousness.

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18 out of 26 people found the following review useful:

Witchblade had it all.

Witchblade was like a comet, briefly appearing in the sky and then gone
before you knew it. The show was stellar. The writing, acting and
production values were way off the curve for a television series. The
complex relationships between the characters were fascinating and
raised issues beyond the stories and the story arc itself was
compelling. The climax of the first season was one of the most
audacious moves I have seen in a story and I couldn't wait to see how
they would play out the rewritten stories and then bam(!) the powers
that be started messing with the show and then canceled it without
resolving any of the questions. For something of that quality, critical
acclaim and following to be canceled like that and then not be issued
in DVD is mind boggling. I have not watched the network the show was on
since then and still miss the series.

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14 out of 22 people found the following review useful:

Thank you Witchblade

Witchblade, the wonderful cast, writers, crew came together to forge an
unforgettable event. A TV series with soul. And for at least one season
it was free of management interference. The second season was a valiant
effort in face of great odds. But all good things must be crushed by
the relentless interference of American managers. When something is
perfect they can't let it be.

Thank you to Yancy Butler for her wonderful portrayal of a real
heroine. Thank you to the photographic skills of the crew and thank you
to the people who choose the unforgettable music.

And thank you to Warner Bros. for setting me free. Forcing me to give
up on American TV and look for entertainment someplace else. From the
TV series I looked to the comic book, and while I was in the comic
store I discovered manga and eventually anime. Now, coming full circle
the Japanese are airing an anime version of Witchblade. Sweet revenge.
I don't need you anymore Warner Bros.

Isn't it about time WB released Witchblade to DVD? They have made money
around the world even after destroying it. Let new American viewers
rediscover it.

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14 out of 23 people found the following review useful:

Witchblade 2001, Season 1 and Season 2

Witchblade 2001, Season 1 and Season 2: One of the most intelligent and
intriguing TV series I had the pleasure of viewing in years.

The acting was fantastic. The Actors: Eric Etebari, Anthony Cistaro,
Yancy Butler, Will Lee, Lazar, David Chokochi and John Hensley were a
pleasure to watch. Professional and believable in their roles.

It was a unique, well written, intelligent, and suspenseful and it was
a completely different type of cop show rather than the same old tired
cookie cutter shows still on the air.

The music was well thought out and exciting. Overall the entire show
from the writers to the filming and directing, to the unique style of
all of the actor's was fantastic. No episode was dull or boring and the
actors brought their characters to life.

Why it was canceled is a mystery.

Why it hasn't been made into a TV series DVD set for purchase yet is
also a mystery.

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13 out of 22 people found the following review useful:

Technical Excellence

In addition to the wonderfully detailed plots and excellent characters,
Witchblade was a triumph in technical performance. The sets were
consistently excellent. The crew took chances (and succeeded) with
different styles of lighting and camera angles. Time lapse photography
and stop action were used to good effect, and yet they did not jar the
viewer. The soundtrack was recognized with award nominations, and
rightly so. The dialog was extraordinarily well written, and stayed
fresh throughout the series. Editing was tight and crisp; there were
very few lags in tempo and yet was not too fast either. One of the best
production teams in years! Witchblade is a real treat to watch!

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:

Excellent escapist fantasy rooted in contemporary reality

I saw the series when it initially aired on TNT, and I found it fresh,
exciting and captivating. The combination of pure escapist fantasy and
cop drama worked well in this incarnation. Yes, it was strange, but
strange doesn't mean that it wasn't entertaining. By juxtaposition of
an ages-old metaphysical history against Sara Pezzini's attempts to
cope with that in the framework of her contemporary physical world, it
created a whole new universe for the writers to dabble in. I believe
that people who enjoyed "Sliders" "Farscape" and "Quantum Leap" would
have enjoyed this show, as well.

All good drama contains conflict, and in this case the conflict was
manifest in Sara's efforts to reconcile the mundane and the
metaphysical. At first a hard-bitten cynic, we see Sara slowly and
begrudgingly grow spiritually and emotionally as she begins to accept
and embrace her destiny as the current bearer of the Witchblade.

I was introduced first to the TV series, and then I want back to check
out the comic: yet I found the series more accessible. At points during
the series you were left wondering along with Sara if she was
hallucinating or having visions of events that actually happened--which
helped build tension in the storyline.

I also didn't object to the ending of the third X-Men movie, even
though it strayed from the comic-book lexicon. The important thing is
that within the context of that story, it made sense, and helped move
the plot forward effectively. It makes no sense to attempt to bring
comic-book characters to the big screen, if all you're going to do is
regurgitate the comic-book legend exactly as it appeared in print. An
effective re-imagining actually takes old characters and makes them
fresh and relevant again, as in the re-imagining of the Superboy legend
in the Smallville TV series. I've read the Superman and Superboy comics
growing up, which were mostly kind of corny. Smallville has taken the
development of young Kal-el and made him contemporary and interesting
again.

If a film or TV adaptation of a story originally told in graphic novel
or comic book format stays true to the spirit and intent of the
character, and changes are made to improve the dramatic flow in that
direction, then those changes should be embraced as a welcome
improvement, and not dismissed offhandedly from the dogmatic
perspective of it straying from the comic, or being too different.

Been a Witchblade fan for years and TV series Awesome

The actors and actresses were fantastic. Hemmecker and Oakie wrote some
fascinating episodes... Comic book lover since the series and can't
wait for the Movies!!!

Sara Pezzini wields the Witchblade and is the balancer just like the
picture of Justice with her scales. The series symbolism was ahead of
its time. It does have a matrix kinda feel...but more realistic.

Some of my favorite episodes dealt with Ian Nottingham and his dilemma.
Love and protect Sara or break his loyalty to his master Kenneth Irons

Kenneth Irons the intriguing puppet master who also loves Sara but he
loves the Witchblade more...

The series was ahead of its time...

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

For the time, superior comic adaptation, under-rated

One of those productions that just flat-out got lost in the shuffle.
Butler caught a lot of eyeballs in the 90s counterpointing JCVD in Hard
Target, but this oddball production (filmed in Canada, BTW, to keep
costs down ... DUH!) may end up being remembered as the high-water-mark
of her career. To do a proper job playing the female cop that
accidentally dons the sacred relic, the witchblade, you need to be
equal parts action-hero, stunt woman, romantic lead, and just plain
sassy. Butler delivered the goods. The production values were very high
for an off-the-books indie, and there were some standouts in the
casting, especially Anthony Cistaro as a super-villain who made the
most bizarre requests seem reasonable (in the tradition for example of
a Bond baddie) and Eric Etebari, who used as especially soft-spoken
delivery (like Stephen Amell in Arrow) to contrast a predilection for
action. The short-lived series also features one of the greatest
"resets" ever seen in a TV series, a sort of time travel riff which
allows the hero, Butler, to undo all the damage done in the first
season by invoking the witchblade, and essentially start over. Never
saw that one before, but it was memorable.